Euphemia LatiQue Sumpter, better known as Tika Sumpter, is an American actress, singer, producer, television host, and model. Sumpter began her career as the host of '' Best Friend's Date''. From 2005 to 2010, she appeared in the daytime soap opera, ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

''. In 2010, she made her film debut in '' Stomp the Yard: Homecoming''. Sumpter was later featured in supporting roles for '' What's Your Number?'', '' Think Like a Man'', '' Sparkle'', and '' A Madea Christmas''. From 2013 to 2021, she appeared on the

OWN Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...

soap opera '' The Haves and the Have Nots'', as well as in '' Ride Along'', ''

Ride Along 2 ''Ride Along 2'' is a 2016 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Tim Story and written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. It is the sequel to the 2014 film '' Ride Along''. The film stars Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Ken Jeong, Benjamin Brat ...

'', '' Get On Up'', and '' Nobody's Fool''. In 2016, she starred as Michelle Robinson in ''

Southside with You ''Southside with You'' is a 2016 American biographical romantic drama film written, produced, and directed by Richard Tanne, in his feature film directorial debut. The film stars Parker Sawyers and Tika Sumpter as a young Barack Obama (the futur ...

''. In 2020, she appeared in ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers m ...

'' and reprised her role in the 2022 sequel, '' Sonic the Hedgehog 2''.

Early life

Sumpter was born in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

in Queens, New York City. She was a cheerleader at her high school. She graduated from Longwood Senior High School in Middle Island, New York and studied at Marymount Manhattan College where she majored in communications.

Career

2004–2011

Sumpter began her modeling career and appeared in commercials for

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...

and

Liz Claiborne Anne Elisabeth Jane Claiborne (March 31, 1929 – June 26, 2007) was an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Her success was built upon stylish yet affordable apparel for career women featuring colorfully tailored separates that co ...

's Curve fragrances. She also worked as a waitress before acting. In 2004, she served as the co-host for the reality series ''Best Friend's Date'', which was broadcast on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

's defunct cable channel The N, now titled

TeenNick TeenNick is an American pay-TV channel that is operated by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Aimed primarily at teens and tweens, its programming includes a variety of live-action series inherited from sister channel Ni ...

. The following year she landed the role of

Layla Williamson A list of notable characters from the ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live'' that made their first appearance between the beginning of 2000 and the end of 2009. Kimberly Andrews Kimberly Andrews (born Aubrey Wentworth) is a fictional charact ...

in the ABC daytime soap opera, ''

''. For her portrayal of Layla, Sumpter was nominated for an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

for Best Actress in a Daytime Drama Series in 2008. She first appeared on-screen on July 15, 2005, playing the role regularly through September 14, 2010. Sumpter reappeared in the role on November 9–10, 2010, and January 21 and 24, 2011. In 2010, Sumpter made her film debut in '' Stomp the Yard: Homecoming'' and briefly appeared in ''

Salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

''. From January to May 2011, Sumpter appeared in

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

teen drama series, '' Gossip Girl'' as Raina Thorpe. She played singer

Jason Derülo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter.

's girlfriend in the video for his song "

It Girl An "it girl" is an attractive young woman, who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging. The expression ''it girl'' originated in British upper-class society around the turn of the 20th century. ...

". In 2011, she appeared in the romantic comedy film '' What's Your Number?''. From 2011 to 2012 she also had a recurring role as Jenna Rice in the

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

comedy series, '' The Game''.

2012–2015

Sumpter played Delores "Dee" Anderson in the musical-drama '' Sparkle'' (2012), inspired by the story of

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

. Sumpter is heard on the '' Sparkle: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'', and appears in the music video for " Celebrate". After ''Sparkle'', she starred in the independent comedy film '' My Man Is a Loser''. From May 2013 to July 2021, Sumpter starred as Candace Young, a lead villainess, in the

Oprah Winfrey Network Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is an American multinational basic cable channel jointly owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Harpo Studios that launched on January 1, 2011, replacing the Discovery Health Channel. The network is led by talk show ho ...

soap opera '' The Haves and the Have Nots''. The series was a hit for the Oprah Winfrey Network. In 2013, she also appeared in '' A Madea Christmas''. In 2014, Sumpter co-starred in '' Ride Along'', opposite

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning se ...

and

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be p ...

. She reprised her role in the 2016 sequel ''

''. She played

Yvonne Fair Flora Yvonne Fair Strain (''née'' Coleman; October 21, 1942 – March 6, 1994), known professionally as Yvonne Fair, was an American singer, best known for her 1975 recording of " It Should Have Been Me". Life and career Flora Yvonne Coleman w ...

in '' Get On Up'', the biographical drama film about

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

. In the same year she co-starred opposite

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

, Mo'Nique, and Khandi Alexander in the HBO biographical film '' Bessie'' about the blues singer

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock an ...

2016–present

Sumpter played a young Michelle Robinson in the film ''

'', a biopic about the early romance between Barack and Michelle Obama. The film premiered at the

2016 Sundance Film Festival The 2016 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 21 to January 31, 2016. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 2, 2015. The opening night film was ''Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You'', directed by Heidi E ...

and received positive reviews from critics. Sumpter also co-produced the film. Sumpter is an honorary member of

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen s ...

sorority. She was inducted into the organization on July 10, 2016, at the 67th annual Boule, in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2018, Sumpter appeared in the drama ''

The Old Man & the Gun ''The Old Man & the Gun'' is a 2018 American biographical crime film written and directed by David Lowery, about Forrest Tucker, a career criminal and prison escape artist. The script is loosely based on David Grann's 2003 article in ''The Ne ...

'', directed by David Lowery. She also appeared in ''

An Acceptable Loss ''An Acceptable Loss'' is a political thriller film written and directed by Joe Chappelle and starring Tika Sumpter and Jamie Lee Curtis. It had its world premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival on October 13, 2018. It was released ...

'', a political thriller written and directed by Joe Chappelle, and in the comedy-drama film '' Nobody's Fool'' for Paramount Players. In 2019, Sumpter was cast in the ABC comedy series ''

Mixed-ish ''Mixed-ish'' (stylized as ''ish'') was an American single-camera sitcom created by Kenya Barris, Peter Saji and Tracee Ellis Ross that premiered on ABC on September 24, 2019. The series is a prequel to ''Black-ish'', and the second series to be ...

'', a prequel spinoff of '' Black-ish'', playing the role of Alicia, Rainbow's mother. In 2020, she appeared in the film ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' based on the video game franchise, and in the 2022 sequel.

Personal life

On October 8, 2016, Sumpter gave birth to her daughter, Ella-Loren. In January 2017, Sumpter announced that she was engaged to '' The Haves and the Have Nots'' co-star, Nicholas James. The couple married in 2022.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sumpter, Tika 21st-century American actresses Actresses from New York City African-American female models Living people Marymount Manhattan College alumni Singers from New York City American television actresses African-American actresses American film actresses American soap opera actresses People from Queens, New York 21st-century American singers 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women 1980 births